president obama made his final argument, placing the blame squarely on congress, specifically, house republicans, mr. obama is cautiously opt mifertic that lawmakers will reach a watered-down deal, but no mention of debt, tax reform or entitlements. i'm shannon bream. the senate will convene in an hour. we have team coverage on capitol hill and at the white house. we start with mike, live on capitol hill. what's the latest on republicans? and how are they reacting to the comments we heard from the president? >> reporter: good afternoon. the critical comments from president obama in a critical stage in these negotiations, certainly seem to hit a nerve. a spokesman for senator mitch mcconnell says while the president was tapingly those remark, senator mcconnell was trying to bring republicans and democrats together on a solution. the spokesman notes, discussions continue. if senator mcconnell and harry reid can reach a deal in the next couple of hours, leading senate republican notes there is no guarantee it will pass both the house and the senate. >> if mcconnell can't get 60% of us t